Welp, Anduril is back for more—and this time, in a different hemisphere. In case you missed it, on Tuesday, the defense tech darling announced that its Australian branch has been awarded a $1.12B ($1.7B) contract to deliver a fleet of its Ghost Shark SSK XL autonomous submarine. This is officially Anduril’s first international program of record.
“The Ghost Shark’s entry into full-rate production marks the start of a new era of seapower through maritime autonomy,” Anduril said in a statement.
The company specified that the massive contract is designed, in particular, to help Australia counter the threat from Chinese naval assets in the South Pacific. “Success in this effort would be a landmark opportunity to demonstrate the potential of autonomous seapower to address clear and urgent national security problems,” the company added.
Working together: The Ghost Shark program was launched as a co-development program between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and Anduril Australia back in 2022. The idea was to build an Australian-designed and built super-large unmanned underwater vehicle, which the team dubbed the Ghost Shark XL.
Anduril also acquired Dive Technologies back in 2022 to shore up its UAV effort.
This Australian-built autonomous sub:
- Is about six meters long and about two meters tall
- Can operate at depths of up to 6,000 meters
- Can operate for about 10 days autonomously
- Is built using a modular architecture, meaning it can be updated with different payloads, sensor suites, and the like.
The sub is built for stealthy, long-range operations and persistent ISR. It also has strike capabilities and can act as a “mothership” for other UAVs.
Look ma: Beyond being cool, new, and autonomous, Anduril says that the adoption of the Ghost Shark by the Australian Navy sets a precedent for navies around the world.
“Rather than relying on traditional defense acquisition, the Navy co-developed and co-funded Ghost Shark with Anduril, committing significant financial and bureaucratic capital to the success of the program,” the company said in its statement.
“The program opens the door for other nations to follow suit — such as the United States and its allies — in deploying autonomous seapower at relevant scale with unprecedented affordability, against a relevant timeframe, and through clear operational concepts,” they added.
Anduril said it will continue to work alongside the Australian Navy to develop the autonomous fleet, and that they have invested $60M in building a “sophisticated, robotic XL-AUV manufacturing facility” in the country.